Wall St closed higher overnight as the S&P 500 closed at a record high rising 0.58%, tipping over the 5,000 point mark. The Dow Jones gained 0.91% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 0.3%

In terms of US stocks, Tesla and Meta both outperformed expectations which saw them rise 6% and 2% respectively.

Over in Europe, markets closed higher as investors continue to react to corporate earnings as they come in. The STOXX 600 closed 0.6% higher with constructions stocks rising 1.1% whilst oil and gas stocks fell 0.9%. Germany’s DAX gained 0.6%, the French CAC rose 0.86% and over in the UK the FTSE100 closed 0.38% higher by market close.

Locally yesterday, the ASX closed 0.77% higher, led by gains in the information technology and real estate sector of 6.81% and 3.36% respectively. This was offset by the energy sector which lost 2.10%.

What to watch today: 

• The Australian share market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.94% at market open this morning.
• On the commodities front this morning,
  • Oil is up 2% to US$78.17 a barrel following the release of disappointing US retail sales data, weakening the US dollar. 
  • Gold is up 0.59% to US$2004 an ounce and iron ore is trading flat at US$128 a tonne. 

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a hold rating on Altium (ASX:ALU) and has increased its 12-month price target from $44 to $66.75. The hold rating is maintained following the announcement of a binding scheme implementation agreement with Renesas for the company to acquire 100% of the issued shares in Altium for consideration of $68.50 in cash. The price target has been raised to a modest discount to the offer price to allow for some risk of the scheme not proceeding.
• And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Magellan Financial Group (ASX:MFG), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $9.32 to the range of $10.60-$10.90, on a pattern formed over 29 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.